Chapter 178: Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Eight

The next moment, the three soldiers at the door collapsed to the ground together, and several black shadows flashed in.

In the blink of an eye, they were beside the two men.

The young general was Cui Zheng.

He only felt a flash of cold edge before his eyes, and a lock of hair at his neck was sliced clean off.

It fluttered lightly to the ground.

And at his neck, there was a faintly cool, razor-sharp sensation that prickled his skin into gooseflesh.

He turned his head to look at the newcomer, teeth clenched tight, his face full of defiance.

"What kind of skill is a sneak attack?!"

"Truly shameless!"

Chu Yuan, who was holding a Dagger against the middle-aged general's Adam's apple on the other side, shrugged his shoulders and spoke in a casual, roguish tone.

"We're assassins—sneak attacks are literally our job, and besides…"

The corner of Chu Yuan's mouth, hidden beneath his mask, curved up, and he let out a wicked chuckle.

"Little Young Master, didn't your Grandfather ever teach you that all's fair in war?"

Hearing this, Cui Zheng froze for a beat, then suddenly understood.

"So you never intended to fight at night at all—sneaking into the Military Camp and capturing us was your real goal!"

Chu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm!"

"Not entirely stupid!"

At those words, Cui Zheng blew up on the spot. He struggled violently twice, the Dagger slicing his neck open so blood dripped down, but he didn't care in the slightest.

"How dare you speak to me like that!"

"I dare you to say that again!"

He was absolutely furious!

A warrior may be killed but not humiliated!

Who was this person?!

How dare they humiliate him like this!

Chu Yuan clicked his tongue twice.

"At a time like this, you'd better stop throwing that Young Master temper of yours around here."

As if doing it on purpose, he looked at him and said, one word at a time:

"You. Lost. The. Fight."

Hearing those last four words, Cui Zheng was so enraged he nearly jumped out of his skin, pointing at him and shouting.

"If you've got the guts, let me go and we'll fight one-on-one!"

Chu Yuan gave his Subordinate a look, and the men began heading out. He even found a moment to toss a line back at Cui Zheng.

"There will be a chance for that, but not now."

The commotion here quickly alerted the soldiers in the Camp.

A large group of people surrounded them, holding torches and weapons.

"Who's there?!"

"Release the Young Master and the Marshal at once!"

Chu Yuan had already sealed both men's acupoints. Neither of them could speak now, nor muster any strength, and could only be shoved forward as they walked out.

With one hand gripping the middle-aged general's shoulder and the other holding a Dagger across his neck, he swept a glance over the Xiyue soldiers surrounding them and shouted coldly.

"Listen up, all of you—prepare a Horse Carriage and five fast Horses right now, or get ready to collect the corpses of your Marshal and Young Master!"

With that, he exerted force with his right hand, and a bloody line was pressed into the middle-aged general's neck.

A fresh wound appeared on Cui Zheng's neck as well.

Seeing this, the adjutant was frantic with worry.

The Marshal—General Zhu Hong—was a distant cousin of the Empress Dowager. Though a distant relative, he was still considered an imperial kinsman.

This little Young Master of the Cui Family was equally no small figure—the sole heir of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's household. The Marquis of Zhenyuan was a two-dynasty veteran, and in a few more years, he'd be a three-dynasty one.

Whether at the Imperial Court or in the army, he commanded great prestige.

The two most important men were both in the enemy's hands.

What on earth were they to do!

"What, you haven't made up your minds yet?!"

As he spoke, Chu Yuan added more force to his hand. The wound on Zhu Hong's neck deepened, and in no time at all fresh blood soaked a large patch of his collar red.

Seeing this, the deputy's brow twitched wildly, and he raised his hand and shouted.

"Fine! I agree!"

"But you must release the Marshal and the little Young Master!"

Chu Yuan let out a cold laugh.

"It seems you haven't quite grasped your own situation!"

"Or perhaps you'd rather collect the corpses of these two?"

As he spoke, he gave the Subordinate holding Cui Zheng a look. That man applied force, and Cui Zheng's wound deepened further.

Watching the two men's faces grow paler and paler, the deputy could only give in helplessly, turning to bark orders at the soldiers.

"Why aren't you going to prepare what he said?!"

Soon, the Horse Carriage arrived.

Chu Yuan escorted Zhu Hong and Cui Zheng into the horse carriage.

The group hurried toward the Da Yin encampment.

The deputy general led a group of men quietly following behind. After trailing for several li, they discovered Zhu Hong by the roadside, bound tightly with ropes.

"Marshal!"

The deputy general rushed over at once, helped him up and untied the ropes, unlocked his acupoints, tore a strip of cloth from the hem of his clothes, and helped press it against the wound on his neck.

"Marshal, are you all right?"

Zhu Hong's eyes were dark and shadowed as he stared fixedly in the direction Chu Yuan and the others had left.

The Dingyuan Marquis's faction was especially important to the Crown Prince — the heir absolutely could not come to harm!

"Send two men back to call for troops. The rest of us continue the pursuit!"

The deputy general nodded.

"Yes!"

Just then, a young soldier rode up hurriedly on horseback, shouting from a distance.

"Marshal!"

"Marshal, the Crown Prince has sent a letter!"

"The Crown Prince?"

Zhu Hong snatched it away at once.

After reading it, his expression changed drastically. He crumpled the letter into a ball and glanced back in the direction the horse carriage had gone.

"Return to camp first!"

The deputy general was stunned.

"Marshal, aren't we going to rescue the heir?"

Zhu Hong's face darkened.

"Something has happened in Ducheng. We shouldn't act rashly. We'd better report this matter to the Crown Prince quickly and let His Imperial Prince decide."

About an hour later, a soldier with a secret letter tucked into his chest rode at full speed toward Xiyue's Ducheng.

……

Meanwhile, just as the sky was growing light, Chu Yuan and the others spotted a group of men and horses not far ahead.

Standing at the very front was Cheng Chengxuan.

Seeing them return safely, Cheng Chengxuan quietly breathed a small sigh of relief.

"So? All alone, charging straight into the enemy camp, and I even captured the Enemy Army's commander. Pretty impressive, right, Pavilion Master me?"

Chu Yuan tossed his head back proudly, hands on his hips, chin tilted so high it nearly pointed at the sky.

Hearing his words, the subordinates who had followed behind exchanged glances.

"……"

So we're not people, apparently.

"Boring."

Cheng Chengxuan quietly returned those two words, then turned and walked back.

"Hey!"

Chu Yuan chased after him.

"I risked my life helping you, and you don't even have a single word of concern?"

Seeing Cheng Chengxuan still walking without stopping, Chu Yuan sped up, ran ahead, and blocked his path.

"Let me tell you, I'm deeply hurt right now. I'm angry!"

"I'm going to sever ties with you!"

Cheng Chengxuan glanced at him and said lightly.

"I already gave Cheng Xin and the others instructions earlier — breakfast is instant noodles. If we don't hurry, we won't get them while they're hot."

At those words, Chu Yuan's tense expression crumbled in an instant.

He huffed and puffed, the picture of tsundere.

"You think a bowl of instant noodles is enough to send me off?"

Saying that, he hurried toward the Camp at a quick pace.

"Cheng Xin!"

"Add me a fried egg, and two ham sausages!"

Watching his retreating back, Cheng Chengxuan shook his head helplessly.

The Dark Pavilion members behind, escorting Cui Zheng toward the Camp, all simultaneously covered their faces with their hands.

Help, this is so embarrassing.

Cui Zheng, his hands bound, watched the scene that had just unfolded and nearly exploded with rage.

What kind of nonsense was that???

What on earth was that thing that just ran past?!

A little food is enough to make him that happy?

Most importantly — he had actually been captured by such a useless loser?!

Cui Zheng screamed furiously inside his heart.

Aaagh, I'm absolutely furious!

Grandfather! Your Grandson is unfilial and has disgraced you!

In a few days, the news of his capture would likely spread back.

When that time comes, not only would Grandfather worry, but those civil and military officials who only know how to make snide remarks, waiting to watch the show and badmouth their Dingyuan Marquis's household, as well as those profligate young masters in Ducheng, would surely mock him even more brazenly behind his back.

Just thinking about all this, Cui Zheng felt so frustrated he could die!

Truly, truly…

Damn it!

So infuriating!